Etsy Interview with Tina's Treasures

My name is Tina Sanchez and I'm the creator of Tina's Treasures. I'm 43 and 100 percent disabled. After I graduated from high school, my parents moved me to North Carolina. I went to college but wasn't satisfied with any job that I worked. In 1991, I decided to go to the police academy and graduated in May of 1992. I was hired on at the Hickory Police Department June 1, 1992. I work there as a police officer from 1992 to 2000. My high school sweetheart had been looking for me for over 10 years and finally found me on the internet in the summer of 2000. On New Years Eve, he brought me back to New Mexico. We got married on Valentines Day 2001.

How and when did you start making jewelry and your other items?

My father got me into making jewelry in 2004 when I moved my parents back to New Mexico. I first started out using cheap beads such as plastic and using thread to string them on. I found out that I really enjoyed making jewelry but didn't like the type of beads I was using. I then started using real stone beads and glass beads. I was using silver beads but the silver would start chipping off so I started using sterling silver. I now use beading wired to string my beads on because I found that the wire doesn't break like thread so I went through all of the jewelry that I have made using thread and restrung all of them onto the wire. I can tell the difference from my first pieces to my newest. I don't even have to think to hard on a design, it just comes to me as I choose the focal bead first and it all falls into place. I don't duplicate any of my jewelry so it's a one of a kind piece.

In 2008, I lost my mom and went into a deep depression. I was hospitalized twice for suicide attempts. While in the hospital, I met a woman that was taking quilting classes at a local quilt shop called Busy Bee Quilts. It is so close to where I live that I can see the building from my back window. She talked me into taking the quilting class with her. I hadn't sewn since high school and always wanted to learn to quilt. So, I took my first quilting class and I have kept sewing ever since. The owners of Busy Bee, Mike and Cheri, brought me out of my depression. I have taken many classes from them and they call me their "Stained Glass Queen". They have become very good friends of my husbands and mine. I tell them all the time that if it wasn't for them moving here from Chicago and opening that quilt shop, I don't think I would have gotten out of my depression as fast as I did.

When and how did you originally find Etsy?

I decided one day that I wanted to find a website where I could sell my items so I went on the internet and did a search for craft websites. I found Etsy and read all about it. I joined on January 8, 2008 under the name of shecop1992, just 3 days before my mom passed away. I had to get a business license for a craft show that I was doing and I didn't want to use shecop1992 so I chose Tina's Treasure. That is why my shop has two names.

It shows on the banner in the shop as Tina's Treasures. My Facebook page shows as tina'a treasures because of a misprint but I didn't notice it until about a day later and decided to leave it that way. It was several months later when I found the Chat in Etsy. I started talking to other women about my problems and they were so supportive. I felt like I knew these people for a long time. I have made some really good friends on Etsy. My Etsy website is http://www.etsy.com/shecop1992. The sales that I have made in my shop is from chat rooms. I just recently started looking at the Alchemy part of Etsy. Alchemy is where people post things that they want done. Then you go in and bid on it. If you win, then you make whatever it is that you bid on. I recently won a bid myself. An Etsy member wanted me to quilt a quilt top of her that never got finished. If I remember right, it was her grandmothers. I finished it this past week and got it back in the mail to her.

What is unique about Etsy and what about the website do you like the most in regards to your shop?

Etsy is know world wide. I have checked out other craft type websites but Etsy is the only one that I have found that has a Chat. That is where you can actually talk with other Etsy members. Etsy also has what they call a Treasury. That is where people have an item in the same catagory on the home page where everyone can see your item then can go into your shop and see what other items you have. There is also a part called Featured shop. It's almost the same as the Treasury only it's cheaper. You pay for the Treasury and the Feature but the fees aren't really bad. I have done several Features which brings in traffic to your shop such as mine.

What inspires you the most in regards to your creations?

I just get ideas in my mind on how I want to make something. I do so many different types of crafts. I'm the type of person that has to keep busy but I don't like to do the same thing all the time. Just some of the things I do are listed in my website at http://www.etsy.com/shecop1992. I also cross stitch, which I have been doing for somewhere around 25 years. I do the painted stained glass - I would love to learn the real stained glass some day. I have all the things to do it, I just need someone to teach me. My sewing, I was inspired by Cheri and Mike at Busy Bee Quilts. They are the ones that have kept me going. They can tell now when I am having a high pain day or if my depression is bad. We then talk about whatever it is that is bothering me. Everytime I go into that shop, I come out smiling.

What is your favorite piece you've created and why?

My favorite piece that I have made is probably my Fabric Stained Glass Mermaid. She took me 2 weeks to make where the smaller ones only take me a day or two. I actually made her twice. I was fusing the small pieces onto a scrap fabric and realized that I didn't like the colors I had chosen. So I started all over again. The second time, she turned out really beautiful. She is my pride and joy. I didn't need any help on her at all. Which most pieces now I don't need any help. I am working on a piece that comes in a close second that Cheri (Busy Bee) is teaching me. It's called Aveah Garden. It is a colorful star in the middle that is paper pieced with some applique. One of the pictures attached is just the center part that I have gotten finished. I'm working on the border now.

What do you want to accomplish with your online shop?

I would like to become successful with my Etsy shop. I would like to have it to where someone will come into my shop (on the internet of course) and find something that they like. I do take special orders also. If someone sees something that they like but don't like the color, I want them to feel like they can ask me to make them one using the colors that they like. I'm very easy to get along with in that way. I don't mind making what someone wants at all. That's what is means to be an artist to me.

Do you have any new creations in the works? If so, what can shoppers expect to see from you soon?

Well, I have the Aveah Garden that I should finish pretty soon and I have several new fabric stained glass patterns that I am really looking forward to making. I've got serveral special orders I'm working on right now so when I get them finished, I'm going to start on one of the stained glass pieces. I am trying to save up for 2 different machines. The first on is a longarm quilting machine. With the nerve damage in the neck and lower back, I'm starting to have problems quilting the tops. The second machine a Babylock machine. It's a sewing machine and an embroidery machine. This machine is unbelievable. I'm getting to the point now in my business where people are wanting there names or services embroiderd on their items. The embroidery machine is a very small one and I'm limited in what I can do with it.

Where can readers find out about more information regarding your jewelry and other creations and possible special offers (including additional websites, blogs, facebook, etc)?

I have two facebook pages, one is a personal page but it is linked to my business page. I also have a blog. I'm also listed in google under two different names. The first is Shecop1992 and the other is Tina'a Treasures.